Henry's Crush
by OnTheCyberSeas
Summary: Henry's crush prompts Emma, Regina, and Neal to give him the talk. A Swan-Mills family one-shot set in the Christmas In Storybrooke Universe.


A/N: Here's the next installment in the Christmas In Storybrooke Universe. You don't need to have read any of the previous stories for this one, but it might help since this series is divergent from canon. For those, who have followed the series, the final pairing one-shot (Red Beauty) will be coming very soon. After that, there will be a couple of stories that lead into this year's Christmas story. I hope you enjoy what I have planned and thank you for continuing to read my stories.

* * *

It all started one July afternoon when Emma picked Henry up from Jefferson's house. Henry climbed into Emma's bug while waving at Grace, Hansel, and Gretel as they stood on the front lawn fresh from playing a game of tag.

As the car door closed and Henry buckled his seatbelt, Emma turned to him. "Did you have fun, kid?"

Henry nodded and Emma started the car. As she drove to their home, Emma looked over at Henry noticing that his expression had turned worried and contemplative.

"Is something wrong, Henry?" Emma asked, breaking the unusual silence.

After a few moments, Henry asked, "How do you move on from a girl that isn't interested in you?"

Emma nearly crashed the car as she slammed her foot on the brake. Thankfully, there was barely any traffic in Storybrooke. Emma stared at her son and noticed for the first time since Henry had knocked on her door over a year ago and brought her home that Henry had grown quite a bit in that time. Emma fidgeted with the steering wheel as Henry said, "What the hell, mom? It's not like I just confessed to a crime or anything."

"Don't let your mom hear you talk like that." Even though Emma and Regina were quite happy in their relationship that had developed over the past few months, Emma knew that Regina would still give her a hard time for teaching their son how to curse. It would be okay though, as Emma would make it up to her later.

"Sorry," Henry said.

Emma nodded and tried to answer Henry's question, "It hurts to have your heart broken, but everyone has dealt with it at some point. It's okay to be hurt, but you have to realize that there are other fish in the sea. You'll eventually move on and you'll find someone who returns your feelings."

Henry took a moment to think about this. His shoulders slumped and he frowned, "Thanks mom."

Emma pulled into the house and turned the car off, "No problem kid. Just remember Regina and I love you no matter what."

Henry smiled for the first time since he left Jefferson's, "I love you too." He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door. He jumped out of the car and ran to Regina, who had just walked outside to greet them. Regina hugged Henry as Emma walked up to them, smiling at her family.

Soon, Henry pulled away and ran into the house and Emma walked up to Regina. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and pulled her into a kiss, "Hey."

"Hello," replied Regina softly, "Dinner's almost ready."

The evening consisted of tacos around the dining room table and ended with a couple games of Apples to Apples accompanied by Regina's apple pie. After Henry went to bed, Emma turned to Regina. "We need to talk."

Regina's eyes raised in concern, "About what?"

Emma shuffled her feet nervously, "I think we need to give Henry 'the talk'."

"What talk?"

"You know, 'the talk'." Regina looked at her confused and Emma sighed, "The sex talk."

Regina flushed, "He's too young."

"Gina, he told me that he has a crush on a girl today," Emma explained, "I'm not looking forward to it either, but our son is growing up."

Regina sighed, knowing that her girlfriend had a point. "Alright we'll do it tomorrow," she paused, "While it's not my first choice, perhaps his father should be there as well, to give the male perspective."

Emma nodded and stood up, "I'll call Neal now." She walked away as Regina opened her laptop and did some research of her own.

* * *

The next morning, Henry stared at his two mothers and his father sitting on the couch across from him as they stared back at him in awkward silence. "Did I do something wrong?" Henry couldn't think of anything he had done recently to have all three of his parents here to punish him.

"You're not in trouble," Emma tried to ease her son's worries, "We just want to talk to you."

"About what?" Henry was unable to mask his confusion.

"As strange as it seems, this conversation is a rite of passage for children as they start to get older and mature," Regina explained, "My father had this conversation with me when I was your age." Emma and Neal shifted uncomfortably and looked at each other. Regina noticed and continued, "Unfortunately, your mother didn't get the same luxury as I did and I feel terrible about it everyday." She glanced over at Emma who nodded sadly.

"What are we going to talk about?" Henry looked between his parents wishing that they would get to the point already.

Regina cleared her throat, "Remember when you asked me when you were six where babies come from?"

Henry nodded, "Yeah, you told me that mothers drink a potion and a baby grows inside of them."

Emma snorted and Regina lightly elbowed her in the ribs, "At least I didn't tell him it was from a stork."

Furrowing his brow, Henry looked at his mothers, "That's not how babies are made? You lied to me?" Henry mentally slapped himself. No wonder Hansel and Gretel laughed at him when he told them that story.

"I didn't lie to you, I merely withheld information until you were mature enough to understand. Babies do grow inside of the mother, you have seen how big your grandmother has gotten," Regina paused, "It's just that its not a potion that starts the process."

"Some people do use a potion though," Emma blurted out. Neal chuckled on the other side.

Regina looked between the two of them, trying to contain her own laughter. "And clearly not even all adults are mature enough for this conversation." Neal looked at the ground while Emma looked at Regina. When she saw that Regina was smiling at her, she relaxed.

Regina didn't quite know how to continue, so Emma asked, "Kid, have you heard any of your friends talk about sex?"

Henry nodded, "Yeah, but they won't tell me what it is. They say I'm too young. Just because they've been under a curse for 28 years doesn't mean that they're more mature than me."

Emma's eyes widened at the realization that all of Henry's friends were older than even her and she muttered under her breath about needing to talk to Archie. Regina reached for Emma's hand and took it into her own, giving her a squeeze of comfort. Getting back to the topic at hand, Regina said, "Anyway, sex is the natural way to conceive a baby." She waved her hand and a projector with a slideshow materialized in front of them, "Now if you pay attention here, you will see a diagram of the male anatomy." Henry looked at it like it was going to come out of the screen and attack him. Neal stood up and walked over to the screen and used his finger to point out and explain the different parts.

When he was done, he sat down and Regina waved her hand and a diagram of the female reproductive system replaced the image. Regina used a pointer to explain the diagram to Henry. She continued with an explanation of what happens during sex, as well as a discussion of different sexual orientations and gender identities. Emma blushed during most of the presentation, as she was never used to talking about this with this much depth, and particularly with visual aids.

As she finished, Henry looked horrified. "That's how it works?" Regina nodded. Henry looked like he was going to be sick, but his curiosity got the best of him. "So when I walked into your room two weeks ago, that's what you were doing?"

Both Regina and Emma flushed red. "I walked out right afterwards," Henry explained to his mothers. Neal was trying not to laugh and Regina glared at him.

"Oh my god," Emma said as she stood up, "I can't do this." She walked out of the room in embarrassment. Regina stood up to follow her. She gave Neal a nod as she went to comfort Emma. Neal turned to Henry and started to explain to him the changes he should expect during puberty.

* * *

Later that evening, the Swan-Mills barbeque got underway. Emma laid out the food that she had just grilled and their friends and family gathered around the table. Emma moved out of the way and on her way towards Regina. As she reached her, the former queen pulled her into a kiss.

"Having fun?" Emma looked into her eyes as she pulled away.

Regina nodded, "Things are so much better now. It's all thanks to you."

Emma smiled, "I'm glad to hear it."

"Hey guys," Ruby said as she and Belle walked over to them. Emma and Regina smiled at them. "How was your day?"

"Awkward," Emma said. At Ruby and Belle's confused expressions, Emma elaborated, "We decided to give Henry 'the talk'."

Ruby laughed, "I remember when Granny gave me the talk. I wanted to die from embarrassment."

Emma glanced past her friends towards Henry who was looking at Ruby with an odd expression. It was as though he was heartbroken. Emma remembered what Henry had told her the day before. When he confessed about a crush that he knew would go nowhere. The realization hit her and she started laughing. Regina, Ruby and Belle looked at her strangely. "What's so funny?" Belle asked.

At that moment Granny called Ruby over to her. Emma said, "I'll tell you later," as she and Belle walked away. She turned to Regina and simply said, "I think Henry has a thing for an older woman."

"How do you come to that conclusion?" Regina looked over at Henry, and saw that his eyes followed Ruby as she walked over to Granny. "Oh… Perhaps we should have a talk with him about that next."

"Yeah," Emma said, wiping tears from her eyes, "Now lets join the party." She took Regina's hand in hers and led her over to Snow and Charming. Emma looked around at her friends standing around their lawn, to her son, to her parents, and to her lover, glad that she had finally found a home and a family at last.


End file.
